HETEROGENEITY OF ROOT AS A MICROBIAL HABITAT

It has been shown that microbial cenoses of the rhizosphere and rhizop lane differ from soil microbiocenosis in a number of parameters. Diffe rent root parts have their own specificity as a natural microbial habi tat. The heterogeneity of the root greatly affects the microflora of t he rhizoplane and exerts lesser effect on that of the rhizosphere, whi ch is more influenced by successional events in the surrounding soil. In the rhizosphere, as well as in soil, fungal biomass predominates ov er the biomass of bacteria and actinomycete mycelium; in the rhizoplan e, the biomass of fungi is comparable to that of prokaryotes (bacteria and actinomycete mycelium). The dynamics of the number and compositio n of fungi and bacteria in the rhizosphere and rhizoplane is mainly de termined by the middle root part; as for actinomycete mycelium, its dy namics is influenced by the apical root part.